Tribalized politics one of the results of political identity

David Pradere/ Contributing Writer

As the world keeps turning, one thing has become evident – the politics of this modern day and age have reverted to a primal state.

It’s no longer about bringing together two differing viewpoints on issues to create a solution through general consensus to a problem that the nation may be facing.

Now, it’s a matter of what side you can align with based upon simple characteristics like race, gender or nationality. It’s become a matter of what that side falls under in this new warped political spectrum.

Tribalized politics is one of the results of this new identity trend, and quite frankly, it’s a cancer upon the body of civilized forum. If you’re not a full-fledged Communist, you’re a sexist, misogynist, racist Fascist, according to how things seems to operate nowadays.

Every political discussion that seems to be had, whether through the media or in person, always tends to boil down to the tired argument of Left vs. Right.

At that point, it no longer becomes the matter of what the subject originally was. Rather, it now becomes a fight between what side is corrupt, wrong or evil, and what side is truly correct and righteous.

In this cancerous conflict, it can clearly be seen when the two rising forces mentioned coagulate into a malignant tumor upon society.

I’m sure I’m not the first nor the last person to have seen someone’s thoughts or political reasonings behind a current event be shot down or completely ignored because of their nationality or their political ideology.

It’s sickening to see that despite how far we’ve progressed as a society, the simple factor of one’s origins or beliefs is enough to cause us to throw the desire to learn from one another out the window. Instead, we regard that person as an enemy when they might have not even done a single thing to deserve it.

To bring up a recent point, think about the 2016 election and how President Donald Trump used identity politics to his advantage, and how his game plan catalyzed the rise of tribalized politics.

Trump wasn’t shying away from using nationality as a key component to his campaign, as evidenced by his blatant regards for Mexican immigrants as “murderers” and “rapists,” according to New Republic.

He took advantage of the silent majority of Caucasian voters and took it upon himself to use identity politics to win over their votes by using phrases and promises that appealed to a truly “American” idealism.

Hillary did almost the same, according to New Republic. She supported every minority group under the sun while also promising as many civil liberties and ensuring to further as many feminist plights as humanly possible — sometimes even bordering on the impossible.

This goes to show that the horrid use of these sorts of political tactics has been so normalized and widespread that it seeps into our everyday lives, causing events such as the recent mass shooting in Las Vegas to be turned into a political argument, as seen when the former vice president of CBS Hayley Geftman-Gold stated that the victims deserved no sympathy because country music fans are “often Republicans.”

We can never hope to progress as a society if we allow such a dividing force like politics to govern every aspect and judgment of our lives.

And while politics is a key component to functioning as an advanced society, we must take it upon ourselves to not let this key turn into a sword to harm and lash out at one another with. Rather, we must turn it into a hammer and cudgel so we may chisel out a better future together, regardless of whether we’re Blue or Red.

 

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The opinions presented within this page do not represent the views of Panther Press Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect individual perspectives of contributing writers and/or members of the University community.

 

Photo taken from Flickr.